In my time at Plymouth State University, I have come to the realization of the importance of the habits of mind. Metacognitive thinking can really change the approaches to challenges in daily life, not just in education. I practice the habits of mind (Problem solving, purposeful communication, integrative perspective, and self-regulated learning) every day, whether I am aware of it or not. Step by step, I am getting better and climbing instead of being at basecamp.
I find myself practicing problem solving a little more than the other habits of mind because of how much it appears in my daily life. Many of my favorite past times include problem solving, like golf for instance. I have been playing golf since I was sixteen and have always found the challenge to be exciting. When thinking through a shot on the golf course, I first must determine what club I am going to hit based off how far I need to hit it and where I am on the course. There are so many different problems to solve when approaching a shot and my problem-solving skills really help me.
Purposeful communication is another habit that I work on day in and day out. It would be kind of hard to not work on this because of the interactions I have throughout my days. Whether I am conversing with classmates or talking in a professional manner towards my professors, I find myself confident when it comes to communicating. Could I still use work on it? Absolutely.
Integrative perspective definitely can give me problems at times, but for the most part, I feel like I do well with it. I find myself being able to put myself in other people’s shoes without much problem and ultimately, be an understanding individual. This skill is going to help me when I am teaching because grades do matter, but at the end of the day, so do every other aspect of students’ lives.
Self-regulated learning is the habit I struggle with the most by far. It is challenging at times to truly want to get schoolwork done or other tasks that you really do not have interest in. I am working on this though and want to work on my discipline.
Reflecting on my current development on the habits of mind leaves me with thinking about being more disciplined more than anything, along with working on the three other habits of mind.
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